I have a trackball that I dearly love (the Microsoft Trackball Optical 1.0). I thought about buying a replacement but they don't make them any more and it goes for $100+ on Ebay for used ones.

The button started double-clicking a lot of the times now. It's almost unusable. I haven't done anything to the mouse. The button's not sticking. It's not dirty. I opened it up to see if the button was sticking or dirty and it's not. Smooth clicking motion like always. It hasn't been dropped.

I remapped one of the other buttons as the default button and that's a decent workaround but it feels funny to left-click with the right button.

It's funny but way back when, an office was getting rid of a lot of hardware so I saw this, never-used trackball, and decided to pick it up as a backup for when a mouse died (to be used until the next mouse could come in the mail). And ended up loving it so much, my mice sit in drawers.

If you're prepared to do some soldering a microswitch replacement is a pretty easy undertaking.

The hard part is going to be finding a suitable replacement. If you open up your trackball's casing you may be able to read markings on the defective microswitch and google an exact replacement, otherwise you'll want to source a SPST NO equivalent (single pole, single throw, normally open button/plunger activated microswitch)

Mouser and RS sell these in the UK, I think you have both of those stateside too.

The most common sort of terminators for these switches is a quick-connect pin pair. If you can't find an exact match then you might have more luck looking for a generic quick-connect switch like these and then soldering one pin into the original contact and another pin to a wire which you can route into the other original contact. Assuming you want stablilty a healthy dose of superglue on the bottom and some hot-melt glue around the sides should keep it in place as firmly as the original was with solder.

Oooh, the E-switch website actually has loads more than I can get hold of in the UK. I'm sure you'll find something suitable here

Some people ask me why I have always enclosed my signature in spoiler tags; There is a good reason for that, but I can't elaborate without giving away the plot twist.

I do have a soldering iron somewhere (my brother left it behind), but I've never used one before. So I cut the solder and then solder in the new switch? Is this a tricky process? How much is solder? Actually, I can google that part...

I'll open the trackball and see if I can see the microswitch model. Thanks for the links!

riviera74 wrote:Even though I would recommend a Logitech optical trackball, you can find a replacement Microsoft one here.

I thought and am still seriously considering the Trackball M570... I just wish buttons 3 and 4 were located like on the Microsoft one. In a firefight, it's much easier to hit the correct button with the Microsoft one. You just push your finger out in that direction and you hit it.

I'm not sure about buying a used trackball anymore. what if I get one where the microswitch is about to die again? the amazon link was helpful since there are a couple sellers selling it for below $100.

anyone have personal experience with the M570?

but if I can manage finding and installing the microswitch, I'll try that. that sounds like an interesting project that's not too much of a stretch for my neophyte skills.

yes, I checked the mouse settings and everything appears normal. thanks for the response!

I even tried the bandaid of changing the double-click speed to try to compensate for the button but that just led to more problems. Right now, I'm using my backup mice until I figure out what to do about the trackball.

onlysublime wrote:If I'm going to do this, I'll replace at least 2 buttons. Now, with what you guys are seeing, is this something a beginner can do?

If you've never used a soldering iron before, it may not go well. I guess you need to decide whether it is worth possibly trashing it to get it fully functional again, given that you already have a workaround that is allowing you to use it.

I'm not sure what you mean by "replace at least 2 buttons". I can't tell where the 2nd picture is in relation to the 1st.

If you don't know someone you can borrow soldering/desoldering tools from this will cost you a bit in equipment as well, but you don't need anything fancy for a job like this. Cheapo soldering equipment from Radio Shack is entirely adequate (I even use a crappy Radio Shack soldering iron to recap motherboards).

Edit: Cap'n, I checked Digi-Key already and they only sell that switch in quantity 500! Mouser has it in single unit quantity.

The years just pass like trains. I wave, but they don't slow down.-- Steven Wilson

I fixed the pics! sorry for the mistake! In addition to the left mouse button, my button 4 has failed (I have to really press hard for it to register). So I thought that if I'm going to go to the trouble of replacing one switch, might as well replace more.

yes, I checked the digikey link and it's crazy that they're expecting lots of 500!

if there's no label for buttons 3 or 4, what's the best way of finding out what switches to buy?

I'll try the cleaning tip but it clicks just as smooth as always (actually the left mouse button clicks slightly looser and more easily than the right mouse button) and the top of the button looks clean.

Last edited by onlysublime on Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

button 4 is almost dead. I have to press really hard to get it to register. But I learned to live without it because it was for some little functions, depending on the application.

left mouse button, of course, is critical.

I'm willing to tinker because right now, the trackball is kind of dead to me. I'm having to map my left clicks to the right mouse button and my right clicks to button 3. which is really weird. I thought of mapping the left clicks to button 3 but it's kind of a weird feel, if that makes sense.

No visible markings anywhere on those other switches, eh? Bummer. There might be markings on the underside, but you would need to unsolder it first to check.

Absent any markings, you're reduced to wading through product listings and comparing the pictures and measurements in the spec sheets looking for a match. That's going to seriously suck, and probably isn't worth it.

The years just pass like trains. I wave, but they don't slow down.-- Steven Wilson

Just to clarify: It is single-use in the sense that it is a consumable; but one spool of it will literally last you years if all you're using it for is the occasional desoldering of small components like mouse microswitches. That spool in the picture is probably enough to desolder the switches on at least a couple dozen mice...

The years just pass like trains. I wave, but they don't slow down.-- Steven Wilson

I'm guessing any light penetrating oil is probably about as good as any other for this experiment. Sewing machine oil certainly fits the bill. The "3-in-1" stuff they sell at the hardware should be OK too.

One caveat: Petroleum products can damage certain plastics, so try to keep it confined to the switch plunger. If it damages the switch that's no biggie since the switch is dying anyway; but try to keep it off the other plastic parts of the mouse.

The years just pass like trains. I wave, but they don't slow down.-- Steven Wilson

just brew it! wrote:I'm guessing any light penetrating oil is probably about as good as any other for this experiment. Sewing machine oil certainly fits the bill. The "3-in-1" stuff they sell at the hardware should be OK too.

One caveat: Petroleum products can damage certain plastics, so try to keep it confined to the switch plunger. If it damages the switch that's no biggie since the switch is dying anyway; but try to keep it off the other plastic parts of the mouse.

Does WD40 fit the description?

There is a fixed amount of intelligence on the planet, and the population keeps growing :(

just brew it! wrote:I'm guessing any light penetrating oil is probably about as good as any other for this experiment. Sewing machine oil certainly fits the bill. The "3-in-1" stuff they sell at the hardware should be OK too.

One caveat: Petroleum products can damage certain plastics, so try to keep it confined to the switch plunger. If it damages the switch that's no biggie since the switch is dying anyway; but try to keep it off the other plastic parts of the mouse.

Does WD40 fit the description?

Sounds like it. You might have to be careful of spraying plastic components, but it fits the penetrating oil criteria and will probably last for some time.

"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP"

WD40 is good, and so is motor oil or olive oil when you have nothing to lose. It may actually work if it succeeds in displacing other dirt. In general, though, a dirty, oxidized or greasy electrical contact is unreliable. For proper cleaning you'd need something like this. It contains solvents and some thin oil that eventually evaporates.

My Logitech trackball (T-BC21, the symmetrical one) occasionally does double click on its own, too, or interrupts a drag-and-drop exactly where it shouldn't, or does nothing when clicked. It does that for a day and then it's perfect for weeks. I have the cleaner mentioned above and will try to use it next time but right now there's just no need.